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Monday, May 16, 2016

"Queen of the Pacific" Gives first interview in 10 years

Sandra Ávila Beltrán, 18 years old and deeply in love with Javier Caro, who would later be murdered.

"despite the horrendous bloodshed and estimated more than 100,000 deaths in Mexico over the past decade’s drug wars, she made one thing clear: she doesn’t feel any guilt."

I

nside the front door of
Sandra Ávila Beltrán’s home is an altar and lit candles that form a crowded
shrine to her first husband (riddled by gunfire), her second husband (stabbed
through the heart) and her brother (tortured to death). All were murdered
during Mexico’s ongoing cocaine wars.

Ávila is the stuff
legends are made of – one of the few women with access to the highest levels of
cartel life. She has lived, worked and loved inside the upper echelons of the
Mexican drug world since the late 1970s. At the height of her career, she
showed a propensity to carry suitcases with millions of dollars in crisp $100
bills.

Her status led her to
become known as “The Queen of the Pacific”, in honor of her alleged prowess
organizing a fleet of tuna boats laden with 10 tons of cocaine each as they
navigated north from Mexico’s Pacific coast towards the world’s number one
cocaine market: the United States.

Ávila has spent the
last seven years in prison for money laundering, including two years in
solitary confinement. Now free, she gave an exclusive interview, her first in
nearly a decade, from her home near Guadalajara, in which she lashed out at
Mexican politicians’ corruption, mocked the futility of drug prohibition and
celebrated the escape of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

Her three-decade rise
to power has provided her with a front-row view of private jets, clandestine
plastic surgery operations to disguise identity, murderous shootouts at VIP
parties and one non-stop constant: massive bribes to Mexican public officials.
“The most I ever heard about was a $100m [bribe] to a Mexican president,” Ávila
said. “A million dollars is nothing. I have seen one [politician] look into the
bag to see if it was there. He knew everything.”

Beltran when released from US custody

Although she spoke
freely for three hours, Ávila resolutely refused to see anything evil in the
carnage of the drug violence in Mexico, blithely comparing it to
Prohibition-era violence in the US. In her world, drugs were everywhere, and
illegal drug use a consumer not moral choice. The tens of thousands of Mexicans
killed by armed drug gangs includes many of her inner circle yet she refused to
criticize the industry, instead seeking to portray violence as a result of
either Mexican government-sponsored terrorism or prohibition policies — not the
well documented and undeniable savagery regularly used by Mexican drug gangs.

Ávila also refused to
answer certain questions about her precise role in the cocaine trade, coyly
forgetting the exact number of bodyguards in her personal detachment, and
describing extremely large cash payments made to her as “presents”. And despite
the horrendous bloodshed and estimated more than 100,000 deaths in Mexico over
the past decade’s drug wars, she made one thing clear: she doesn’t feel any
guilt.

Ávila was born into
narco royalty. As a child, she lived in opulence. She was offered private
tuition, piano and dance lessons and frequent trips to SeaWorld and Disneyland.
Her father, Alfonso Ávila Quintero, is related to the founder of the
Guadalajara cartel. Her family’s lifestyle also included piles of money. She
spent so many hours counting cash as a child that she could later swipe a
clutch of bills and – just like a cocktail party trick – precisely calculate
their value.

Around the age of 13,
she witnessed her first shootout. “People walked the streets with pistols at
the waist with musicians walking and playing behind them,” she said. “At dawn
you heard the music, the shootouts, it was when they killed the people.”

While her childhood
friends soon rose to become leaders of the Sinaloa cartel, young Sandra explored
other routes, taking her verve and enrolling in journalism classes as a feisty
17 year old. But three years into communication studies at the Universidad
Autónoma de Guadalajara, a jealous boyfriend kidnapped her. He was a powerful
young man closely tied to the cartels. Within months she had left town, ending
her hopes of a career as an investigative reporter.

Sandra today at home

Instead, Sandra Ávila
entered the drug underworld. It didn’t hurt that she was a raucous car driver,
a master horseback rider, and a fabled sharpshooter. She also, she said, made
the best of her flirting skills.

“I remember a suitor
who bought me a pickup truck and left it at my friend’s house with flowers and
a note,” she said. “The note said, ‘spend the money on a trip that you want’
and there was an envelope.” It held $100,000. By the age of 21, she was
privately meeting with the drug lord Amado Carrillo Fuentes, also known as El
Señor de los Cielos (Lord of the Skies).

Her life became
full-time cartel. An astute learner, she rose fast through the ranks and was
coveted by men every step of the way.

However, Ávila made a
point to never use cocaine herself. “If you do it, the men think you are just
another disposable woman, you won’t be respected,” she said.

Women in this world,
she explained, are abused, discarded, and tossed out with little more concern
than a child abandoning a Barbie doll. Narco leaders would keep a harem of up
to 10 women and this sexual freedom, she emphasized, does not extend to their
female counterparts. Women, she said, are looked at as objects, adornments or a
necessity but “never as a fighting being, or a person made of triumphs and
achievements”.

Gaining respect was
paramount to her. Ávila didn’t want to be just invited to the party, she was
determined to become the Queen of Cocaine. And in less than 10 years, her
coronation was complete.

She became friendly
with “El Chapo” Guzmán, dated a top leader of the Sinaloa cartel, commanded a
30-car flotilla and won shooting competitions with the head bodyguard to Rafael
Caro Quintero, founder of the Guadalajara cartel.

For her son’s 15th
birthday, she gave him an Hummer and, later, a $40,000 allowance every few
months. From her neck hung a gold pendant in the form of Tutankhamun with 83
rubies, 228 diamonds and 189 sapphires. Photos of her party life resemble an
episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians except when she scanned the photos
every few years, another one of the characters had been murdered.

She's paid her debt to "suciety", I mean to "la suciedad" or is she in probation or parole or good behavior release program?--Seria muy pendeja si vuelve, on the other hand, getting paid millions of dollars just for being pretty is no crime yet...

You put your ass on the line enough times, you know what it takes to stay alive, dinero y pistoleros, y ojos en la espalda, she probably knew who killed her husbands, for her or over her, hope it was worth their while...

Of coarse she sees nothing wrong . She is a rue psychopath . Mexico seems to have plenty of them . Is it genetic ? Not sure if it comes from the old cannibalistic Aztecs or the blood thirsty Spaniards that could slaughter thousands in the name of the church . Then again maybe its environmental . The Nazis were worse than regular german army because many were brought up in it . The Japanese , during their attempt to take over ,believed everybody was less than human except Japanese . These people mentioned in this article were all raised in it . I saw a dog with rabies once . Wouldn't his fault but rabid none the less . No place in society for a dog like that .

The United States recently attacked and invaded Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya in wars of choice / aggression (the actual crimes that the Nazi's were hung for at the Nuremberg trials) resulting in the death of appox 2 MILLION people. Is it genetic?

Of course she doesn't see anything wrong with the life and the brutality.She was raised in the life and doesn't know what's normal or never known anything else.Quite an insightful article.A woman cartel head is going to say different things than a man as well as different personalities.She made a good point that a woman had to work harder for respect than a man.What a looker she is though.I could see any man getting it all,the knockout looks and wealth,rare combination.Thanks for posting this Lucio.

Can Can Canna I think it is wrong to fly airplanes, and since mexicana de aviación pilots had to traffick drugs on their carry along luggage to make ends meet, and barry seal got killed, i've become more convinced, man should have stayed grounded on earth, forgettabout missiles...

I read this on Chivis's fb page. Grazie to all for posting it. I found it astonishing and informative. Once again BB has the mobest news on all the players in the war on drugs. Keep up the great work. It is greatly appreciated.Peace to all innocents from Cape Town South Africa.

Wow,she went to Disneyland and Seaworld.This second generation hood rat was just an ignorant hillbilly chick that got greedy.If she wanted to,she could have the option to stay in college.She choose the easy way instead of finishing college and earning a respectable living.From what I read ,most narcos don't want their offspring to live like them.

Easy way.....meaning instead of getting educated and working hard vs becoming a narca.Narcos are greedy and ignorant,they choose the life because of the easy way of getting money.They either grow it or sell it because of the big profit margins.Their actions are due to their own free Will.Honest hard work is never easy,Being in the drug game is easy.Any greedy dumb ass can do it....They know the consequences of jail and death but they still do it because it's really easy to make money.....

10:09 Yep. And that blow the bleeding heart theory that its poverty and "lack of opportunity" .I don't give a shit who you are , it is choices . I myself made a lot of poor choices when I was young . None the less IT IS CHOICES . Excuses are bullshit !

Clearly not the most moral person and I don't think she should be admired. However, to reach the level she did in that business and in the Latino culture and be a woman... She either was extremely ruthless or a borderline genius...

Out of all of her inner circle that were killed I wonder which murders she was responsible for. She is a black widow and she is proud of it. I'm surprised she didn't blame the US but instead blamed the corrupt Mexican government. Finally a narco who gets it right and publicly blames Mexican politicians for not playing by the established rules.

Sandra Avila Beltran recognizes supply and demand and knows that the supply will be filled by someone rather it's the maker of OxyCotin, the Sackler Family that owns Purdue Pharma (2015 newcomer to Forbes billionaire list; worth 15 billion) or the next profit motivated capitalist with no social conscious. Like narcos Purdue Pharmacy filled demand without remorse, did not make pills time released or apply wax coating controls that deter snorting or injecting abuse until the FDA and political forces applied pressure. Purdue Pharma eve a got off with $634 million fine for mislabeling to feed more addicts. Apparently the fines and lack of prison time is less if you have Ivy League education and are politically connected - oh yea; and American.

@ 5:13....*Looked at what happened when the Fed's started to regulate the oxys.They became harder to get and pricier on the black market.This forced the pain pill junkies to start doing Heroin because it was easier and cheaper.Now we are having an epidemic and cartels are getting greedy by cutting the Heroin with Fentanyl.

@4:43; I agree - enforcement on narco pharmaceuticals increased demand for heroina. If DEA does this to the Irish amphetamine kingpin; sorry I mean Shire Pharma who owns la plaza de USA for amphetaminas (adderall y Vyvance) this might also have bad effects on the users they serve up 2 billion USD per year of amphetaminas to (close to 6.5 billion world wide). Shire Pharma is smart like Chapo though, because they have long had the Shire PAC in Pennsylvania near Washington DC so politicians will help protect this Irish kingpin's routes and plazas.

I see satire as you compare pharmaceutical industry with black market cartel. It is entertaining but sadly true. In US legal narcotic industry spends billions to market to doctors, medicine dispensaries, TV commercials and when the legal narcotic companies create more users they are praised as good business people! Very stupid policy!

Germany is not as liberal to support narcotic companies and most European countries choose to educate and control use instead of send to prison and buy police more guns because this policy is more efficient and safer for citizens.

Off topic: I found an interesting chronological order of the sinaloas.....it seems all the heavy hitters where some how related... You guys might want to translate it to English it's really interesting...

Do not miss the mountain party movie that is connected to this link. It was done years ago and watch it carefully as you will see what the real El Chapo looks like. Also guess who the man is with his face clouded out.

In the Guardian comments they miss the mark about judging the Queen. In youth mistakes are made which is normal in ones journey in life and must be forgiven as she paid the price. She made some good recommendations as an adult for government to pay attention to and such merits due consideration and this is good so respect her for speaking out from the heart.

Nice article. Not impressed with her one bit. Take away her bodyguards and see if she feel any guilt. That statement of not feeling guilt makes my stomach turn. I just pray she get her reckoning like all the other idiots who thought they wouldn't. Bodyguards get killed too. So her having some means nothing. Face lifts, bodyguards? That shows her fear despite the fact she is talking the talk. The young cartel guys are far more aggressive and devious nowadays. They are going to find the so called queen, floating in the Pacific.

Society is done if people can't figure out killing innocent children and babies wrong. You people are sick if you think this should be justified in anyway. God have mercy is all I have to pray. It will come.